Abstract
Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy, safety, and precision of TMTP for COVID-19. Methods Randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies were searched in 11 electronic databases. This network meta-analysis included trials using TMTP to treat patients with COVID-19. The traditional pairwise meta-analysis was done by using Stata 15, and Bayesian network meta-analysis was done with WinBUGS. Results 18 trials were included with 2036 participants and 7 drugs. The results showed that LHQW had the most significant effects on improving expectoration, shortness of breath, sore throat, nausea, emesis, inappetence, muscle soreness, and headache, and it could produce the least adverse reactions. XBJ was the best drug for fever, fatigue, and diarrhea, which showed great advantages in lowering WBC levels. XFBD was the most effective drug for cough and chest distress, which had the least exacerbation rate. JHQG was the most effective for rhinobyon and rhinorrhea, while QFPD was the best drug in decreasing CRP levels. Conclusion This study was the first most large-scale and comprehensive research of TMTP for COVID-19. The results showed that LHQW had good efficacy without obvious adverse reactions. Therefore, we believe that it should be firstly recommended for COVID-19 treatment. In addition, XBJ is recommended for patients with a severe fever, fatigue, and diarrhea, and JHQG is recommended for patients with obvious rhinobyon and rhinorrhea; then, XFBD is recommended for patients with cough and chest tightness as the main manifestation. Our findings will help experts develop new COVID-19 treatment guidelines to better guide clinical medication for protecting the health of COVID-19 patients.
Highlights
A severe respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus infection broke out in late 2019
During the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, there is a lack of effective chemical drugs (CDs) for prevention and control in clinical practice, and the interim screening and development of new drugs may take a long time, making it difficult to apply them in a timely way for clinical treatment. erefore, the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) multitarget interventions had become an indispensable systemic approach for patients, and significant progress has been made in China’s battle against COVID-19 in China [4]
Three Chinese patent medicines included Lian-Hua-Qing-Wen (LHQW), JinHua-Qing-Gan (JHQG), and Xue-Bi-Jing (XBJ), and three TCM prescriptions included Qing-Fei-Pai-Du (QFPD), Xuan-Fei-Bai-Du (XFBD), and Hua-Shi-Bai-Du (HSBD), which had played an important role in the fight against the epidemic by treating the disease based on syndrome differentiation according to the patient’s individuality and seasonal and local conditions
Summary
A severe respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus infection broke out in late 2019. Erefore, the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) multitarget interventions had become an indispensable systemic approach for patients, and significant progress has been made in China’s battle against COVID-19 in China [4]. TCM has been proven to be effective in treating patients with influenza and has very successful experience in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Ree Chinese patent medicines and three TCM prescriptions (TMTP) were the key recommended drugs in the Novel Coronavirus Infection for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pneumonia published by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. The China Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine pointed out that TMTP had a great clinical advantage in the prevention and control of COVID-19. TMTP was widely used in clinical practice, there were inconsistent research conclusions due to the different sample sizes, outcome indicators, and unified evaluation criteria in clinical reports, and accurate conclusions cannot be drawn, which made it difficult to grasp its therapeutic effect and clinical advantages. erefore, we conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate TMTP efficacy and safety of COVID-19 patients from a variety of clinical symptoms, in order to serve for COVID-19 prevention and control better
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